Regulation 3 Amendment of the Child Support Fees Regulations

The Child Support Fees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014^f1 are amended as follows.

In regulation 6 (enforcement fee)—

In regulation 8 (waiver of an enforcement fee)—

After Part 3 (enforcement fee) insert—

“PART 3A

Segment 5 cases

Interpretation of this Part

8A.

For the purposes of this Part—

• “the Ending Liability Regulations” means the Child Support (Ending Liability in Existing Cases and Transition to New Calculation Rules) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014^f2;

• “absent parent” has the meaning given in Article 4(2) (meaning of certain terms) of the Child Support Order^f3;

• “child support maintenance” means child support maintenance calculated under Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Child Support Order as amended by Schedule 1 to the 2008 Act;

• “existing case” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 2 (maintenance calculations: transfer of cases to new rules) to the 2008 Act;

• “liability end date” has the meaning given in regulation 6 (liability end date) of the Ending Liability Regulations;

• “relevant period” in relation to a case means a period—

  1. (a)

     beginning on the date on which paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the 2008 Act comes into force in relation to that case; and

  2. (b)

     ending on the day which the Department makes a determination that the payment arrangement is to end.

Wavier of a collection fee and an enforcement fee in certain segment 5 cases

8B.

(1)

A collection or an enforcement fee that becomes payable during the relevant period may be waived in a case that satisfies paragraph (2).

(2)

A case satisfies this paragraph where—

(a)

the person with care, non-resident parent and qualifying child were the person with care, non-resident parent (or absent parent) and qualifying child in relation to an existing case (“the previous case”) where—

(i)

notice was given under regulation 5(2) (exercise of the choice as to whether or not to stay in the statutory scheme) of the Ending Liability Regulations specifying a liability end date determined in accordance with regulation 6(1)(b) of those Regulations;

(ii)

on the date on which the notice was printed by the Department, the case was a segment 5 case (which has the meaning given in the scheme prepared by the Department under regulation 3(1) (scheme in relation to ending liability in existing cases) of the Ending Liability Regulations (as revised from time to time)^f4);

(iii)

the notice was sent on or after 23rd May 2016;

(b)

an application for a maintenance calculation was made before the liability end date in relation to the previous case;

(c)

the Department has specified that payments of child support maintenance are to be made by—

(i)

a method of payment listed in regulation 3(1)(a) to (g) (method of payment) of the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1992^f5; or

(ii)

a method of payment listed in regulation 3(1)(a) to (g) in respect of a portion of the child support maintenance payable and by deduction from earnings order (which has the meaning given in regulation 5 (interpretation of this Part)) in respect of a portion of the child support maintenance payable,

for the purpose of enabling the non-resident parent to demonstrate that without arrangements for collection or arrangements for enforcement of child support maintenance under the Child Support Order payments will be made in accordance with the calculation (“the payment arrangement”); and

(d)

the first payment to be made in accordance with the payment arrangement is the first payment of child support maintenance due in the case.”.